


Free from Fire

by Aerle



Series: Fire Universe [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-08-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 14:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2113050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerle/pseuds/Aerle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Vivi gets hurt, Chaka and Pell decide to bury the hatchet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Free from Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Story for day 9 of Sharethelovemonth, hosted by MyLadyDay and yours truly. Beta'ed by MyLadyDay.
> 
> Enjoy ^^

They had been living in the same neighbourhood for as long as Chaka could remember, and they couldn’t stand each other. Their parents had tried to make them get along, but the moment they turned their backs on the children, they were at each other’s throats. Chaka wasn’t sure why, but he supposed you couldn’t like everyone. Pell started it, anyway, by making him trip, even though the brown haired boy claimed it was an accident. In school, they ignored each other for the most part, but every once in a while their paths crossed and they had to be send to the principal’s office to be separated.

After primary school, the two boys went to different secondary schools. Chaka wondered if their parents had anything to do with that or if it was just a coincidence that they made a different choice, but they weren’t in the same school anymore, let alone in the same class, so they couldn’t fight anymore during school hours.

Chaka would never admit it, but he started missing the pale boy. Not because he secretly liked him, he didn’t, the boy was annoying and a wiseacre, but bickering and fighting was a good way to pass time in school. And he didn’t know anyone in his new school yet. Anyone was better than no one, right?

Chaka hadn’t seen Pell in a week, when he noticed the boy sitting outside, reading a book as the other walked his dog, Inu. Pell looked up from his book, scowling at the tanned youth as he slowly closed the volume. “What do you want?” he spat.

“Just wanted to see if you survived the first week,” he answered. “I assumed that you would have ran home crying because you’re too stupid for your fancy school.” It was true, Pell went to a school for only smart kids, while Chaka’s school had levels for almost any student. They were equally smart, at least, that was what the test said to decide on their levels – but what does a stupid test know, anyway.

Pell snorted. “Who’s stupid? You’re the one that goes to the school for dummies.”

“I’m at the same level you are, moron!” Chaka shoved the boy away.

“Don’t touch me, idiot!” Pell shoved him right back.

The black haired boy fell on the floor, but not without pulling his nemesis with him. They tumbled over each other, trying to shove each other’s faces in the dirt, pinching and hitting each other. Inu ran back and forth, not really knowing what to do. When Pell had managed to pin Chaka down and attempted to throw sand in his face, the dog jumped him, throwing the boy on the ground as he growled at him. Wide eyed, Pell stared at the angry beast above him.

“What’s going on out there?” Pell’s mother’s voice sounded from inside the house.

Hastily, Chaka got up and pulled his pet from the other boy, reprimanding it sternly.

When Pell’s mom got outside, she sighed at the sight of the dirty boys. “Have you been fighting again?”

Pell shot Chaka a dark look, but his face softened a bit when the tanned boy looked at him pleading, silently begging him not to tell on his dog.

“No, I tripped an fell down,” he lied.

“I was playing with Inu,” Chaka said.

The woman looked at them doubtfully, but decided to let it go. “Come inside, Pell. Dinner is almost ready and I want you to wash yourself first.”

“Yes, mom,” the boy replied and he was about to follow his mother inside when Chaka stopped him.

“Thank you,” he said softly. “I’m sorry Inu attacked you, he thought you were hurting me.”

“Was I?”

“In your dreams!” The tanned boy crossed his arms before his chest, but then sighed. “But really, I owe you one.”

“Don’t get cocky, I didn’t do it for you!” the pale boy spat. “I did it for Inu.” He patted the animal’s head and the dog wagged its tail and licked Pell’s hand almost apologetically.

Chaka watched the other boy retreat into the house. At the door, the brown haired boy looked back once, before he hurried inside.

* * *

Pell’s small gesture of kindness didn’t change much between them. The next day, it all seemed to be forgotten and they fought like they had always done. Chaka made friends with the people from his school. Often, Pell would see them pass by, laughing and making jokes.

He himself preferred to be alone, to read a book, or to keep his parents’ birds company. The kids at school teased him about it, calling him ‘Bird-boy’ and other rather unimaginative names. He didn’t care. While his parents had parrots, doves and pheasants and they were all beautiful, his interest laid more in birds of prey. He could read for hours about hawks, eagles and, his favourite, falcons. When he was older, he wanted to become a falconer.

Lately, he didn’t see Chaka as much, as his nemesis was busy with school, as was he, and he had heard the tanned boy had taken up some sort of martial arts. What kind, he didn’t know, nor did he care. He had enough on his plate with his own fencing lessons.

Things changed when he was fourteen – and so was Chaka. A new family moved in next to him, in the largest house of the street. They were obviously wealthy, Pell’s mother thought the father was a bank manager. He had a daughter of about ten, a sweet looking girl with blue hair. Her mother died a long time ago.

He hadn’t spoken to the new family, aside from the welcoming them in the neighbourhood his parents made him do, but when he entered the garden the next evening to feed the birds, he saw the little girls standing, a plush animal shaped like a duck pressed against her as she watched the parrots in awe. Cautiously, Pell approached as not to startle her.

“Do you like birds?” he asked.

She jumped a little, but when she turned around she wore a bright smile on her face. “I do. They’re beautiful. I’ve never seen such colourful birds before.”

“Have you ever petted one?” His smile broadened when her eyes widened and she fervently shook her head.

“Wait a minute.” He opened the aviary and waited with an outstretched hand until one of the birds hopped on it. The birds didn’t mind him, not even if he was reading a book in here – which he did quite often, much to the annoyance of his parents.

Carefully, Pell took the bird from his cage and held his hand out in front of the little girl. Excitedly, she stretched out her hand, but then seemed to realise she had to be careful and with a concentrated look on her face, she stroked the colourful feathers of the parrot.

“This is a blue-and-yellow Macaw,” he told her.

“Does he have a name?” she asked. “Or is it a girl?”

“This is a boy. His name is Tori.” Pell stroked the feathers as well.

“Did you name him?”

He nodded.

The bright smile appeared again on her face. “I like it. Oh!” she exclaimed like she just remembered something. “I’m Vivi.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Vivi.” He smiled. “I’m Pell.”

She beamed at him.

Vivi stayed for a long time, while he introduced her to the other birds and told her everything he knew about them. After a while though, they heard a male voice calling out Vivi’s name.

She pouted. “That’s papa. I need to go home.”

“That’s right. How did you get here?” Pell asked. Their garden was surrounded by a fence from all sides.

She pointed to the corner of the garden. “There is a hole in the fence. I have to go now, but can I come by tomorrow?”

Smiling, he nodded and watched her disappear through the fence.

She did come the next day and the day after that, with a whole bunch of questions about birds ready. Pell answered them to the best of his ability and when he didn’t know the answer, he would get his books and they would find the answer together. Vivi became Pell’s first and only friend, and he was always looking forward to her visits. His parents encouraged him to make friends his own age, but he was content with just having Vivi.

Vivi’s dad, a stern looking man by the name of Cobra, didn’t mind their friendship at all and asked Pell to watch Vivi if he had a late meeting. He praised the brown haired boy about being so responsible, as he always sent the girl to bed in time and didn’t give her candy unless it was explicitly said by Cobra that it was okay. The two soon became inseparable.

* * *

In the meantime, Chaka avoided them as much as possible. Anyone who was friends with Pell was someone he didn’t want to get close with, though he couldn’t resist smiling back when the girl waved at him. She was always so cheerful, it was hard not to like her. Still, he kept his distance.

One afternoon, when he was walking Inu, he saw her sitting on the edge of the pavement, her face hidden in her hands and her shoulders shaking. With her light blue hair, she was easily recognisable. He couldn’t just ignore a crying girl, so reluctantly, he approached. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

She looked up, her face tear-stained. “I don’t know where I am. I saw this bird Pell told me about and I started following it, but it got away and now I’m lost!” She started sniffling again.

Chaka looked around. The forest they were in wasn’t too far from their home, but far enough for someone who didn’t know the area. Besides, he knew this place like the back of his hand, coming here for years to walk his dog and play with his friends.

He held out his hand to the crying girl. “Come on, I’ll bring you home.”

She wiped away her tears and smiled at him as she grabbed his hand. She skipped next to him as she chattered happily about the things Pell thought her about birds. Chaka had trouble not to snort. What did he care what that bird lover had told her? Still, she was so excited, he just let her talk and smiled at her from time to time.

“Do you like birds?” she suddenly asked.

He shrugged. “Not necessarily. I mean, there are pretty ones and all, but I’m more of a dog person.”

“So, do you know as much about dogs as Pell does about birds?” she asked curiously.

He snorted. “I’ll bet I know a lot more that that bird lover does.” He started telling her about different kinds of dogs and was pleasantly surprised when she listened attentively, even asking questions every once in a while.

When they got to her house, a car pulled up on the next door driveway, and Pell came out, holding what looked like a fencing sword.

Vivi waved him over. “Pell! Chaka is telling me very interesting things about dogs! You should come listen.”

The other boy smiled at her. “I have to take a shower first. Maybe later, okay?”

She nodded, a little disappointed.

Chaka looked at his nemesis and earned a glare back, before Pell followed his mother inside.

* * *

The first thing he felt when he exited his house the next morning was a fist to his shoulder in a painful punch.

“What is wrong with you?” Chaka spat at him before he had time to recover.

“What’s wrong with me? You’re the one punching me unprovoked!” Pell shot back and made ready to return the favour.

“You could have joined us yesterday! Do you know how disappointed Vivi was when you blew us off?! She didn’t shut up about you.”

“What were you doing with her anyway? Don’t you have friends your own age?”

“She was lost so I brought her home. Not that it is any of your business.” Chaka folded his arms before his chest.

Pell looked away. “What do you care anyway? It’s not like you wanted me there anyway.”

Chaka stayed silent for a moment. “Like I said, _she_ wanted you to come. I couldn’t care less. But since she talked about you nineteen to a dozen, I would have preferred you to be there.”

“I’ll be there for her, once you leave her alone. But you’re right, I shouldn’t leave her with a Neanderthal like you. Just stay away from her and we don’t have a problem.”

Chaka shot him an icy glare. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“I just did. Stay. Away. From. Vivi. She doesn’t want to play with you anyway. She likes birds, like I do.”

“Oh yeah? Then why did she ask me all kinds of _dog_ related questions last night?”

The paler boy snorted. “She was just being polite enough not to interrupt your monologue. I’m telling you this one more time: stay away from her.” With that, Pell entered the house again and slammed the door behind him, causing his mother to yell at him. He shouted an apology back before stomping up the stairs and going to his room. From his window, he could see Vivi playing in the large back garden. She was feeding the ducks in the small pond. Pell smiled. She was so adorable.

Suddenly, she turned around and looked up. She squinted a little, but then her face brightened and she waved at him. He waved back, thought for a moment and then opened the window.

“Pell! Come play with me!” she called excitedly.

“I wish I could, but I have homework.”

“Oh.” She pouted a little, but then smiled again. “Come after you’re done?”

“Sure.” He was about to close the window, when he saw a familiar head of black hair. Pell’s blood started to boil. What did he just say? Stupid Chaka.

He didn’t care about his homework anymore, storming down the stairs and ringing his neighbours’ doorbell like there was a fire. A large woman with blond hair he recognised as the housekeeper Terracotta opened the door.

“My, aren’t we impatient,” she said with a chuckle.

“I’m sorry, I’m here for Vivi. She’s in the backyard, right?” Without waiting for an answer, he stormed past the housekeeper. He had been often enough been to the house to know where the entrance to the garden was. Ignoring everyone he passed by, he stormed outside and without slowing down he threw himself on Chaka, who was standing next to Vivi. Furiously, he started to punch him in the face. “I told you to stay away!”

The tanned boy recovered from the shock and managed to flip them over so he was on top. “And I don’t let myself be told what to do by a moron like you!” he yelled as he hit the boy beneath him back. Pell pulled Chaka’s hair.

In the meantime, Vivi was standing next to them, looking utterly helpless. “Stop it!” she yelled and suddenly threw herself between them.

Shocked, the boys stopped fighting not to hurt her. “Vivi,” Pell muttered.

The girl looked up, her arm bruised by a stray punch from either of them, and her lip quivering. “Please stop fighting,” she whispered.

“Okay, we won’t fight anymore. Please don’t cry,” the pale boy pleaded as he took her in his arms. She sniffled a bit and Pell waited patiently until she had calmed down, shooting Chaka a glare as the tanned boy started to caress her hair, but doing nothing to stop him.

Vivi let go of him and dried her tears. “Promise me not to fight again,” she said sternly.

The boys exchanged a look. “We won’t upset you again,” Pell promised.

That was the only thing necessary to make her smile again.

* * *

They did keep their promise. They still fought, but only when Vivi wasn’t present. When she was, they tolerated each other and tried not to piss the other off too much. They hung out often and they both adored the little girl. Time flew by and before they knew it, it was Vivi’s eleventh birthday. Of course, the both of them were invited and they decided on a temporary truce to buy Vivi a more expensive present together. They ended up buying a book on all kinds of wildlife, as the girl had showed interest in different kinds of animals, with many coloured pictures. Much to the both of their surprise, they didn’t have to argue about it at all.

For her birthday party, Vivi had of course also invited friends from her school and her family was present as well. Pell and Chaka met some of her cousins, a scowling green haired boy that was called Zoro and a pink haired girl named Perona who carried a teddy bear around everywhere she went. They also met several aunts and uncles. One uncle scared them a little, with his face half covered by a mask. He didn’t seem very nice either and did little more than drink.

Vivi was very excited about the book her friends got her and immediately showed it to her father. The two boys got some cake and something to drink before they started to mingle. No need to stay together for too long.

As soon as Zoro heard Pell was into sword fighting, he challenged him to a duel, even though their styles were very different. The brown haired boy shrugged and accepted the stick the other boy handed him, though he was a little surprised when the other decided on using three… one of them in his mouth. Pell wasn’t intimidated by numbers, however, and managed to drive the green haired boy back towards the pond. He saw the duck too late, Vivi’s favourite that loved to follow her around and which she had name Carue. Zoro didn’t see the bird either and tripped over it. Worriedly, more about the duck and Vivi than the boy, Pell was considering what to do, when the duck suddenly started attacking Zoro and bit him several times.

The older boy couldn’t hold his laughter and all but rolled over the floor. Vivi, followed by Chaka, came hurried towards them, but when she saw nobody was really hurt, she couldn’t hold back her laughter either when she saw Zoro’s dismayed face.

Aside from family, Pell and Chaka also met Vivi’s best friend from school, a blond boy named Kohza. He was living in a less wealthy neighbourhood, but that didn’t stop the two from liking each other a lot. So much even, that Kohza proudly declared to Pell that he would marry her when he grew up.

“Is that right?” the brown haired boy said amused.

“Are you going to stop me?” Kohza challenged him.

Pell let out a laugh. “I think that’s Vivi’s decision.” But then he got serious again and brought his face close to the younger boy. “But hurt her in any way and I will hunt you down.”

* * *

Vivi and Kohza were inseparable, but Chaka and Pell were always close and keeping an eye out on her, earning themselves the nickname of Vivi’s ‘bodyguards’. Despite their age difference, they were really close, though because of school the older boys couldn’t hang out as often as they would like.

The two of them still couldn’t stand each other, but tried to do nothing more than bicker when Vivi was around – stopping to argue was impossible, so this was the best they could do. That didn’t stop them from fighting every once in a while and when the blue haired girl caught them with bruises, she would berate them.

It didn’t help that when they were sixteen, they both started to work in the same animal shelter – only because it was the only one in town. Fortunately, they worked in different sections, Pell with the birds and Chaka with the dogs.

When they got older, Pell started to wear dark make-up and became more goth, but his feelings and attitude towards both Vivi and Chaka never changed. The black haired boy had hardly noticed the development, after all, Pell was still the same annoying boy he had always known. He couldn’t help but worry a bit about him – not that he would ever admit it – because he didn’t seem to have much friends aside from Vivi – and Chaka himself in some twisted way. He had tried acting nicer, but Pell had told him to stop acting weird and had provoked a fight. Not one to let his nemesis down, Chaka had given in. Pell was still Pell, anyway, he had even joined a club of falconers, so he would find people with the same interests soon enough.

One day, when Vivi was fourteen, they found her outside crying.

“What’s wrong?” Pell asked worriedly.

Sniffling, she looked up. “Kohza is moving away. He said his father was transferred and they had to move right away. He is leaving me!”

Pell exchanged a look with Chaka. While the former stayed with the girl, the latter stormed off to see the blond boy. He found Kohza in a similar state as Vivi, upset and in tears. He had never seen the usually tough acting boy like this.

“It’s not my fault!” he called out when he recognised Chaka. “I don’t want to move away, I don’t want to hurt her!”

“I know.” Chaka sighed and took a seat next to the boy on the steps leading up to the front door.

Vivi was inconsolable after her friend moved away. Worriedly, Chaka and Pell both wanted to stay with her, but they had to take turns because they were in the middle of their secondary school exams.

Pell was just in the middle of studying for his biology exam, when he heard a knock on his door. When he called for the person to enter, he was surprised not to see his mother, but his nemesis. “What are you doing here?” he snapped, more out of habit than anything. “It’s your turn to watch Vivi. You left her alone?!”

“Relax, she’s asleep and her father agreed to keep her company if she wakes up. I need to talk to you.”

“About what?” Pell asked suspiciously. Chaka took a seat on his bed, much to the other’s dismay, but he didn’t comment.

“It’s been a week now,” the tanned boy started, “since Kohza moved and Vivi isn’t improving. She hardly eats and she doesn’t play with her other friends anymore.”

“I know,” Pell answered with a frown. “But what more can we do?”

“I’ve been thinking.” Chaka ignored the scornful snort the other let out and continued: “What is the thing Vivi hates the most?”

“People fighting?” Pell’s eyebrows rose. “Us fighting.”

“Exactly. That is why I came here. To bury the hatchet.” Chaka looked the brown haired boy in the eyes. “To be honest, I can’t even remember why we started fighting in the first place.”

“Because you’re stupid.” But Pell grinned. He had an idea why they fought, not that he would tell Chaka that, of course. The moment they met, the brown haired boy had realised there was something between them, but what, he didn’t know. Those feelings soon turned to disliking him, though never hating the other. Fighting was an easy way to cope with the weird feelings and gave him an excuse to be close to Chaka.

“So what do you say?” The black haired boy held out his hand. “For Vivi?”

Pell looked at the extended hand for a moment, but then grabbed it and shook it firmly. “For Vivi.”

* * *

Vivi did seem to cheer up a little, but her smile told them that she didn’t believe them entirely. To prove their good intentions, they started studying together and actually managed to be civil. Pell wasn’t good at math, which was Chaka’s strong point, and the dark haired boy explained it patiently to him, while Pell returned the favour when it came to French.

After their final exam, they decided to celebrate together and went out to a bar for a beer. Vivi obviously couldn’t come, but it was a good excuse to spend some time just the two of them. They didn’t talk that much at first, but the alcohol loosened their tongues and soon Pell found himself confessing something he though he would never tell anyone, much less Chaka.

“I think the reason why I started being mean to you is because I had a crush on you.”

Chaka chuckled. “So this whole time, you were flirting with me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, I got over it. And I wouldn’t call it flirting. After all, when did we meet? When we were six?” Pell leaned with his head on his hand. “So what are you going to do after you pass?”

The dark haired boy sipped from his beer. “I want to become a vet. What about you? Professional falconer?”

“Nah, that’s just a hobby. I want to study ornithology. Birds,” he clarified when he saw Chaka’s confused face.

“Aren’t you already an expert?” Chaka chuckled.

The other smiled back. “Not officially.”

They walked home together, an arm around each other’s shoulder.

* * *

Years passed and Pell and Chaka became inseparable. When they started studying, they found an apartment and decided to live there together. Vivi grew up into a lovely young lady, and Chaka and Pell visited her as often as they could. The university wasn’t that far away, so that wasn’t a problem. Vivi sometimes stopped by and even stayed over every once in a while.

When she was eighteen, the blue haired girl visited her cousin Zoro at his college at his birthday where she met one of his friends and they started going out. Neither Pell or Chaka was very happy with how it started, which Vivi confessed immediately embarrassedly, as they had ended up in bed together the first night, but it was very hard to dislike Ace and the two of them seemed happy. That didn’t stop the girl’s bodyguards from interrogating the new boyfriend though, especially since he was two years older than she was.

“So, what are your plans with Vivi?” Chaka asked sternly as Vivi and Pell went out to do groceries.

The other man let out a laugh. “I’m not planning on proposing, if that’s what you mean. But I like Vivi. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to invoke your wrath. Though,” Ace took a step closer, “I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better. Ever thought about having a threesome?”

Chaka’s eyes widened and he pushed the freckled man roughly against the wall. “Watch your mouth!” he hissed.

Ace raised his hands defensively. “I’m sorry. Of course you wouldn’t do that to Pell.”

Frowning, the tanned man loosened his grip. “Pell? What does he have to do with it? It’s because Vivi is like my sister, you pervert!”

“I understand.”

Chaka let go, but still looked at the other suspiciously. “So what does Pell have to do with anything?”

“You mean, you guys aren’t…” Ace made a vague hand gesture.

“We aren’t what?” Chaka barked at him.

“I just assumed, since you guys seem so close and after what Vivi told me… Obviously, I was wrong.” After a moment of awkward silence, Ace regained his confidence and invaded the other’s personal space again. “Maybe you should give it a try. You guys would look so hot together… If I weren’t with Vivi, I would gladly join in~”

All Chaka could do was stare at the freckled man, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide. Fortunately for him, their conversation was cut short by Vivi’s cheerful laughter and Pell’s deep voice.

The tanned man didn’t dare to bring up the conversation he had with Ace with Pell, but it did get him thinking. What were they? They were close, obviously, they had more than once fallen asleep on the other while watching a movie and neither of them had dated anyone else. But aside from Pell’s drunken confession about his crush when he was six, there had never been any mention of their relationship being anything more than just a very close friendship.

A few days after Vivi and Ace had left from their visit, Chaka found himself lying on the couch again with Pell’s head resting on his stomach. He was playing with the brown strands subconsciously, not paying attention to the movie that was playing. Finally, he mustered up the courage and said: “Can I ask you something?”

Pell hummed and pressed the pause button on the remote control. “What is it?”

“What are we?”

The brown haired man chuckled. “It must be time for bed if you’re getting all philosophical.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” When Pell sat up and looked around curiously, Chaka sighed. “You and me, what are we?”

“I’m not sure what you’re getting at,” the other said slowly.

The tanned man gazed at the wall opposite of him. “We used to hate each other, during our whole childhood. You said you might have had a crush on me, but you got over it. A few years back we found out that we had more in common than we thought and now we live together. Neither of us has dated anyone and personally, I don’t feel the need to find someone else.”

Pell stared at him for a while, not knowing what to say. “So,” he finally said, “you want us to date?”

Chaka shrugged. “Have you ever thought about it?”

“Not really. I mean, I never thought you were interested in something like that.” He looked away.

The black haired man pushed the other’s chin up, bringing their faces close. “And if I am?”

“We could mess this up so bad,” Pell whispered, but his eyes betrayed him when they flicked to Chaka’s lips.

“Do you honestly believe that?”

Instead of answering, the brown haired man brought their lips together. The kiss was slow, neither of them being very experienced. When they let go, they were silent for a while. Then Chaka said: “So, what do you think?”

Pell smiled and leaned in again for another kiss.

* * *

After that, not much changed between them. They kissed and held hands sometimes, but that was the most intimate they got, until one night Pell crawled into Chaka’s bed. Neither of them spoke and both went to sleep. It became a habit. Some nights they would just go to sleep, others they would talk until the morning and after a while they started to fool around a bit.

Two weeks later, Vivi visited again along with Ace. Pell and Chaka behaved like they always had, not wanting to tell their friends yet that they were dating now. They didn’t like lying to their best friend, but they both deemed it too early. Aside from that, they had no idea how Vivi would respond.

Their guest spent the night at their place and left the next morning after breakfast.

A few days later, Pell asked Chaka, when he came out of the shower: “Have you seen my lotion? I can’t seem to find it.”

“When did you last see it?” the tanned man asked while drying his hair.

Pell thought for a moment. “Before Vivi came, I guess. No! I saw it when they were here. I haven’t seen it since.”

“You don’t think Vivi took it?”

“Not Vivi… Maybe Ace? It could be an accident,” he hastily added, not wanting to accuse his best friend’s boyfriend of stealing without any proof.

“Call them then and ask them if they’ve seen it.” Chaka entered his bedroom and started to get dressed with the door ajar.

Pell got out his phone and dialled Vivi’s number, as he didn’t have Ace’s. After a few rings, she picked up. “Hi Pell!”

“Hi. Look, I was just wondering if you maybe accidentally have packed my lotion. The last time I saw it was when you guys were here.”

It stayed silent on the other side of the room for a moment. Chaka entered and gestured him to put the phone on speaker.

“Are you still there?” Pell asked worriedly when he didn’t get a response.

“Are you sure you looked everywhere?” Ace’s voice suddenly sounded.

“Of course.” Pell exchanged a confused look with Chaka, who shrugged. “Why?”

“Well, if you had been sleeping in your own bed, you would have found your lotion under your pillow.”

Vivi chuckled. “Congratulations, you two.”


End file.
